


Nutarer Qawangut

by fireweed15



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Tangled (2010) Fusion, Disney Movies, Inspired by Tangled (2010), M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-03
Updated: 2020-06-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:54:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24519529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fireweed15/pseuds/fireweed15
Summary: [Tangled AU] Valerius and Ąžuolas cap off a perfect day.
Relationships: Apprentice/Valerius (The Arcana), Valerius (The Arcana)/Original Male Character(s)
Kudos: 4





	Nutarer Qawangut

Having no frame of reference for what a _perfect day_ was supposed to be like, he found himself… profoundly grateful to Ąžuolas for his efforts to give him one. The chance to be a part of a community—welcomed with open arms and yet anonymous—after years of solitude in a tower was nothing less than a windfall.

Now, the sky was the golden orange of twilight, the sun quickly setting, and Ąžuolas was adamant about escort him to the docks—specifically to a single gondola moored to the pier. “All aboard,” he said lightly, stepping down into the boat before helping Valerius in as well.

“Well?” He sat down, mindful to keep the end of the (sizeable) braid into which his hair had been woven out of his way. “Where are we going?” Despite the brevity of his words, it was clear he was enjoying himself immensely.

“Well, best day of your life—” Ąžuolas looped the rope securing the gondola back into a coil and tucked it under his seat before picking up a slender oar and pushing them off into the bay—"I figured you should have a decent seat, y'know?“

They sat in companionable silence, Ąžuolas steering the gondola to the middle of the harbor before stowing the oar. The still waters meant that they remained mostly in one place, and the sound of waves lapping gently against the hull underscored the peacefulness of the night—quite the contrast, given the celebration into which they’d wandered earlier that morning.

The only thing to do now was wait, and watch the sky as it turned darkest blue.

At length, Ąžuolas’ attention wandered away from the sky and the wait for the lanterns to Valerius—to the way his gaze remained on the horizon, his expression somewhere between guarded and hopeful, as his hands fussed and fidgeted with sections of his braid in a nervous stim. A few of the flowers that had been braided in fell from his hair into the water, sending delicate ripples across the dark, mirrorlike surface. "Hey—” He reached over and laid a hand on his arm. “ _Ar tau gerai?_ Are you okay?”

The touch seemed to bring Valerius back to the moment, and his expression became almost sheepish. “I’m terrified,” he admitted.

Ąžuolas blinked behind his glasses, and he pushed them up the bridge of his nose if only to give himself a moment to think of something to say (something that wasn’t _what the fuck_ , at any rate). Finally, he settled on—"Why?“

Valerius folded his hands in his lap, thinking for a moment. When he spoke, at first, it was more to his hands than to Ąžuolas. "I’ve been looking out of windows for…” He gestured vaguely, trying to convey the magnitude of the loneliness of such an existence. “I’ve been dreaming about what it might feel like when the lights rise in the sky.” His brow furrowed. “What if it’s not everything I dreamed it would be?”

“It will be,” Ąžuolas replied, gentle but confident.

A slight, appreciative smile tugged at the corner of Valerius’ mouth. “What if it _is_? What do I do then?”

“Well…” Ąžuolas paused thoughtfully, choosing his words carefully as he dug through his satchel to produce a slender bottle of blackberry wine and two earthenware cups. “That’s the good part I guess—” He thumbed the cap off the bottle and tipped the bottle to pour first for Valerius and then himself. “You get to go find a new dream.”

Valerius’ smile effloresced, albeit hidden by the rim of the cup. “In that case—” He lifted the cup to the rogue at his side. “To dreams?”

Ąžuolas nodded, _clink_ ing his cup against the other in a toast. “You got it—to old dreams and new ones.”


End file.
